Refrigerator



Jan. 20, 1942. c:. H. NAUERT REFRIGERATOR Filed March 16, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l WTTORNEY Jan. 20, 1942.

c. H. N pER 2,270,544

REFRIGERATOR Fi1e d March 16, 1938 INVENTOR Cmwwr 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Janlzc, 1942 UNITED STATES "'PATEN'T' orrlcs 2,210,544

REFRIGERATOR Application March 16,1938, Serial No. 196,135 i of Fig. 3;

'1 Claim. (01. 220-1 This invention relates to refrigerators, and it is an object of the invention to provide an improved refrigerator cabinet structure, as will ape pear from. thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and of which:

Fig. i is a frontelevation of a household refrigerator embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the door shown in Fig. l with the insulation removed and parts of the inner wall member broken awayto illustrate details of the structure more clearly;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly broken away and in section, of the door shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is' a sectional view taken on line [-4 Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a trim strip having a backing member secured thereto.

In the drawings the invention is shown embodied in a household refrigerator comprising a cabinet it having a" thermally insulated space ll into .which access is afl'orded by adoor l2;

Within space H is arranged a cooling element ll of suitable refrigeration apparatus to produce notched at 22 at the right hand or latch side of the outer wall member l6. At the region of notch 22 a reenforcing and supporting plate 23 for the latch mechanism (not shown) is secured in place in any suitable manner. The plate 23 and outer wall member l-G are provided with an opening 24, whereby the latch operating handle may be operatively connected to the latch mechanism which is located within the outer wall member. i

ltand ll The inner and outer wall members are held in spaced relation by'a plurality of metallic clips 25. The clips 25, which will hereafter be referred to as spacing clips, are of the shape shown in Fig. 4 and more .or less resilient in character.

The outer edge portions of spacing clips 25' are secured by rivets 26 to flange IQ of outer wall member H5. The inner edge portions of spacing clips 25 are formed with openings which serve as speed nuts, whereby the spacing clips may be secured by screws 21 to flange of inner wall member ll. p

The spacing clips are arranged in spaced relation about the periphery of the door, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2. The vertical sides of the door in Fig. 2 are provided with two spacing clips 25 adjacent the corners of the door, and two smaller spacing clips 25' intermediate a refrigerating effect for freezing water and other the end clips, Likewise, the top and bottom matter and keeping space H .at a desired low temperature. The cooling element II is prober II. The outer wall member 16 extends beyond the inner wall member lI and is bent back upon itself toform a ledge IS. The ledge II is provided with a flange L9 which is inclined toward inner wall member ll. .The inner wall member, I! is formed with a right angle flange 20 which extends'toward the outer wall member l6.

As shown in Fig. 2 the ledge I! at the lefthand or hinge side of outer wall member [6 is formed with depressed portions 2! to which the so door hinges (not shown) are secured. When the door hinges are secured to outer wall memerably provided at the underside of ledge Is at sides of the door are provided with spacing clips 25 adjacent the corners of the door and "a smaller spacing clip 25' between the end clips.

In the space between the outer and inner wall members l6 and IT is disposed a slab 28 of suitable insulating material. The space formed inside ledge l8 which is not filled by the insulatingslab 28 may be fllled with soft insulating material 29.' g

A gasket 3!] formed of suitable resilient material, such as rubber, for example, is fixed against the ledge It. The gasket 30 includes a hollow striking bead 3| and a flange 32 having an inclined edge portion 33 which is'adapted to bear against flange IQ of outer wall member II.

The gasket 30 bears againstthe front of cabi net l0 when door I2 is closed, thei'eby effectively sealing space H and preventing the escape of cold air therefrom. Thegasket 30 is held in position by a trim or breaker .strip 34 which bears against the inclined portion 33 of the gasket.

ber i5, reenforcing plates (not shown) are prefthe depressed portions 2|. The flange is is 5.1

The trim strip 34 overlies the flanges l8 and 2| of the outer and inner wall members It and I1 and is formed of heat'in'sulating material, such flange [3 in the manner shown in Fig.2. -With I the inside of outer wall member I6 face upward belowthe region occupied by the latch operating mechanism.

Each of the trim strips 35 is provided with ,a backing member or narrow rib 31 on the un derside thereof. The narrow ribs 31 may be formed of wood or other suitable material and are preferably glued to the trim strips 35. Each of the ribs 31 is provided with a, diagonal slot 38 at one side thereof. The slot 33 of each rib 31 is wedged or locked in a pin 33, whereby the trim strips are efl'ectively held in place with the outer edges thereof bearing against the flanges l9 and 20 of the inner and outer wall members, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4.

The pins 33 are fixed to small plates 40 which are secured, as by riveting, for example, to flange l3 of outer wall member l6. As shown in Fig. 2, plates 40 are provided at the top, bottom, and left-hand or hinge side of outer wall member l6. At the right-hand or latch side of outer wall member l6 two plates 40 are provided above and below plate 23 at which region the latch mechanism is positioned. In order to provide space to accommodate ribs 31 when the trim strips 35 are secured in place, the. spacing clips are made U-shaped.

The ribs 31 are longer in length than the trim strips to which they are fixed. The projecting ends of the ribs 31 may be undercut or notched at the surface adjacent the trim strips 35 and provided with open ended slots 4|, as shown in the lower right-hand comer of Fig. 2. The slots 4| are adapted to receive cap screws 42 which threadedly engage openings in the corner spacing clips 25.

The connecting corner or angle members 36 are preferably formed of the same material as trim strips 35 andthe ends thereof overlie the ends of adjacent trim strips. The angle members 36 are provided with openings to receive cap screws 43 which threadedly engage openings in the corner spacing clips 25 at regions near the cap screws 42. The openings in the corner members 36 in which the heads of cap screws 43 are embedded are covered with plugs 44 formed of the same material as the trim strips 35, such plugs being frictionally held in place.

The door 12 described abovestantially in the following manner: The outer and inner wall members l5 and I1 are blanked is assembled sub- 7 and formed from flat metal sheets with openings provided in the flanges l9 and 20. During such blanking operation outer wall member 16. is provided with the depressed portions 2| in ledge l3, notch 22 in flange l3, and opening 24 for the latch operating mechanism. The latch re'enforcing plate 23 may then be secured in position and' on a supporting table, the soft insulating material 23 may be wedged in the space formed inside ledge 18. Insulating slab 28 is now ready inserted in outer wall member l6.

With the insulating material in place, the inner wall member I1 is pressed down-against the insulating slab 23 and secured in place by screws 21. Since the resilient spacing clips 25 and 25' are provided with openings and serve as speed nuts, the assembly of the outer and inner wall members l6 and I1 is facilitated considerably.

The gasket 30 is now positioned about ledge I3.

The gasket is preferably formed in one-piece with notched regions for the corners of the door, whereby the gasket will extend about the entire periphery of ledge la. The trim strips 35 with ribs 31 secured thereto are then positioned along the sides of the door so that the lower open ends of the diagonal slots 38 will beengaged by the pins 39. Each trim strip and attached rib is moved lengthwise of a door side, and, in so doing, the diagonal slot 38 moves downwardly past the pin whereby the rib 31 and trim strip are wedged or locked in place. By imparting a sharp blow to the end 01 each rib or backing member 31 with a wooden mallet or the like, the'trim strip 35 and rib 31'secured thereto are quickly wedged into position by the pin and slot securing means.

The projectingends of ribs 31 are next secured to the corner spacing clips by cap screws 42, and then the corner angle members 36 are secured in place by .cap, screws 43, the heads of these screws being covered with the small plugs 34 which are frictionally held in place, as described above. The ends of the trim strips 35 at the right hand or latch side of the door terminate at the.

region of notch 22. The ends of these trim strips are connected by a latch plate 45, as shown in Fig. l, which is secured to 'reenforcing plate 23 and provided with an opening through which a latch bolt 46 extends.

While a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, such variations and modifications are'contemplated which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention, as pointed out in the following claim.

What is claimed is:

Refrigerator cabinet structureincluding inner I and outer sheet metal wall members spaced apart with edge portions turned toward each other and spaced to provide a relatively long and wide gap therebetween and forming hollow insulation receiving wall structure, clips arranged in spaced relation along said gap and bridging the space between said edge portions and secured thereto and independently maintaining said wall members apart in connected relation, said clips having intermediate portions inwardly bent to collectively provide alongitudinally disposed channel, a trim strip of heat insulating material spanning said gap and overlying the edges of said the latch mechanism and operating handle (not shown) then fixed to outer wall member l6.

With the .latch mechanism -wall member IS, the spring clips 25 and 25' and in place an outer metal .plates MI may be riveted to openings in wall members, a backing strip of relatively rigid material on the underside of said trim strip secured thereto and extending into the space between said wall members, said relatively rigid backing strip being shaped to fit the longitudinally disposed channel formed by said clips, and means locking said backing strip and said clips together. D

CARL H. NAUERT.

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